Rifts Over the OZ
by J. Maria
Summary: A one way rift portal sucks Torchwood into the O.Z.
1. Mirror, Rorrim

Title: Rifts Over the O.Z.  
Author: Jmaria  
Rating: FR-13  
Disclaimer: BBC & RTD own Torchwood, Sci-Fi owns Tin Man  
Spoilers: Season 2 Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (nothing specific, just about Jack's disappearance), and all of _Tin Man_.  
Summary: A one way rift portal sucks Torchwood into the O.Z.  
Words: 1349  
A/N: I am newly obsessed with _Tin Man_. I've been obsessed with anything Jack related since the barrage balloon. I love all of the characters, each and every oddball in the crews - and all character bashing is done for plot purposes only, honest.

**__**

Rifts Over the O.Z.

__

Mirror, Rorrim

Glimmering orange and gold light flickered around five stumbling figures. One second they'd been on a rooftop in Cardiff and all of a sudden they were on a large marble balcony overlooking a huge buzzing metropolis. Captain Jack Harkness frowned as he spun in a small circle, taking in the stunned faces of his team and the landscape. And then he noticed the group standing across from them.

Two dark haired women, two older men, a teenager and a - well, he looked like an alien to Jack, stood huddled together, confusion clear in their faces. Apparently, this was not the best place for a drop-in. Jack looked over his shoulder at his disbelieving team and gave them a 'don't panic' look before turning back to the group of people in front of them. He flashed his most charming grin at them, focusing his look on the two people who'd pushed themselves forward in the little group.

"Oookay, kinda not expecting that to happen," the shorter brunette woman frowned at the team.

"What were you expecting, D.G.?" the older blond man glanced at her from the corner of his eye, a low growl rolling out when he said her name.

"Obviously not a group of good looking people!" D.G. snapped back, irritation in her voice.

"Oh, you are just a dish," Jack chuckled, pulling their attention back to him. The man shot him a telling glare, which made Jack just grin even more. "Don't be like that. I really like the outfit."

"Jack," Toshiko murmured from behind him, trying to make herself less noticeable. "I can't pick up any readings -"

"Oooh, I think I've seen that before! Its a better design than the first..." the dark haired man stepped past the couple to peer at the gadget in Toshiko's hand, which he lifted up to examine it closer. "I think I designed the prototype."

Tosh only blinked at his forwardness, staring at the strange apparatus in his head. Jack frowned at the statement. Everyone else had something to say about the touching of his hand on Tosh.

"Impossible!" came from Ianto.

"Glitch!" came from DG and the other woman.

"Ambrose!" came from the alien and the older man.

"Not again!" came from the younger man and Gwen.

"Get off of her!" came from Owen, much to his own surprise.

Tosh and Glitch/Ambrose jumped apart like two teenagers caught necking, which made Jack just grin more. Owen lurched forward to grab Tosh back, pushing her behind him. Jack's brow furrowed at that motion and Tosh looked like the entire universe had imploded. Gwen and Ianto just stared at Owen.

"What? The crazy zipper headed alien put his hands all over Tosh," Owen snapped at them.

"Hey, monkey-man, he's not an alien!" D.G. cried, hands on her hips.

"He's not - he's only -" Tosh bit her lips, obviously wanting to defend Owen's bad manners, but completely unable to reconcile herself to them.

"The Slitheens zippers were never that obvious," Jack pondered.

"The what?"

"Oh! I remember them. They crashed the spaceship into Big Ben!" Tosh smiled brightly at the memory.

"The what?" Owen frowned.

"Big Ben?" D.G. murmured.

"The space pig," Tosh answered, giving him a knowing look.

"Right," Owen shook his head, a blush creeping up his neck.

"All right then, for those of us without alien shorthand, could you lot explain it to us please?" Gwen glared at the team, ignoring the potential alien threats behind them.

"Or, you know, explain to the rest of us how you all got here from the Other Side," D.G. frowned.

Jack looked back at the group before him. Everyone was frowning and there was a strange vibe around them all. Definitely not alien. Otherworldly, but not one hundred percent alien.

"I'm Captain Jack Harkness. This is my team, Toshiko Sato, Dr. Owen Harper, Gwen Cooper, and Ianto Jones. We're Torchwood. This is the part where you introduce yourselves."

"Not gonna happen, buddy," the older man glared at him, only to be interrupted by the shorter woman.

"I'm D.G., we're...us. This is Glitch, um, Ambrose," D.G. gave Glitch an apologetic smile before turning to the other woman and the youth. "My sister Az, and Jeb Cain -"

"Can you not lump me in with the homicidal witch?" Jeb snapped, giving Az a dirty look.

"Can I echo the sentiment of the little vigilante?" Az said sweetly, her lips curling into a disdainful smirk at Jeb.

"Guys, can you not snipe at each other for two minutes?" D.G. groaned, leaning her head on the alien beside her. "This is Raw, Tutor," she pointed to the dog nobody had noticed before, and glanced up at the last man. "And he's -"

"Wyatt Cain," Cain said stiffly.

"Daddy dearest to vigilante boy here," Az batted her eyelashes at Jack.

"Who was I a vigilante against again? Oh, that's right the biggest bitch in the west, Azka-freaking-dellia," Jeb gritted his teeth.

"I was possessed at the time, what's the excuse for the steel pole shoved up your ass?" Az snapped.

"Guys!" D.G. snapped. "Separate corners, now!"

Gwen couldn't help the snort of laughter that came out of her at the antics of the younger people. Neither could Tosh, who started to giggle helplessly. Owen and Jack both chuckled, and Ianto gave them a smile. The tension between the two of them was totally sexually charged, and it was a concept team Torchwood was completely familiar with. Az and Jeb looked at them like they were crazy. D.G. and Cain both looked at each other before laughing as well. The other three looked confused.

It was a few minutes before they regained their composure enough for the fact that there were outsiders in a strange land to deal with to sink in. D.G. chewed at her bottom lip before speaking to Jack.

"You're from America?"

"England. Wales. Cardiff." Jack shrugged

"But your accent..."

"Quaint little boxes," Jack sighed.

"Speaking of boxes," Tosh pushed forward, past Owen to stand beside Jack. "Where did the rift bring us?"

"Rift?" D.G. asked. "What does that have to do with boxes?"

"Um, well, nothing actually. Just trying to figure out where and when we are. The last time I got swept up in rift activity, I was sucked back into World War II."

"They weren't brought here by a travel storm," Az took a step away from the rest of her group.

"I'd noticed that. Lack of a tornado and all," D.G. nodded.

"What exactly is a rift?" Cain's brow furrowed at Jack.

"Its a rip in space and time. Cardiff's riddled with them," Tosh smiled again, falling into the role of teacher with shocking ease. "Bits of alien life and technology just seem to fall through like crazy there. Makes for an interesting work experience."

"Yeah, when they're not trying to you know, destroy mankind," Owen scoffed.

"Sounds like you'd really love it there, Azkadellia," Jeb taunted. "World ending was your specialty, wasn't it?"

"Jeb!" Cain frowned at his son, who managed to look contrite and petulant at the same time.

"Where exactly did we land?" Jack pushed on, ignoring the outburst.

"The Outer Zone," Glitch spoke up then.

"Better known as the O.Z."

"Oz?" Gwen blinked.

"No, the O.Z.," Jack looked distinctly uncomfortable. "Maybe we should move this discussion inside, Princess."

"How'd you know -" D.G. frowned at him.

"She's a princess?" Owen gave her a disbelieving look.

"You better mind your manners, _doctor_," Cain's fingers brushed over the weapon beneath his coat.

"But then, you're both Princesses!" Gwen's eyes widened at the thought of being around real princesses.

"Let's not dwell on that, okay?" D.G. sighed.

"Sorry, never been around royalty before. Its kind of exciting."

"I've only seen Prince William from a distance," Tosh added.

"Oh, isn't he just gorgeous?" Gwen grinned.

"Major hottie," D.G. smiled, "Not that I've seen him any closer than on TV."

"Ladies!" Jack, Cain, and Owen all snapped, getting embarrassed blushes from the three women.

"Moving inside then, shall we?" Ianto nodded to the room behind them.

"Good idea."


	2. One and a Half Function Geniuses

Title: Rifts Over the O.Z.  
Author: Jmaria  
Rating: FR-13  
Disclaimer: BBC & RTD own Torchwood, Sci-Fi owns Tin Man  
Spoilers: Season 2 Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (nothing specific, just about Jacks disappearance), and all of _Tin Man_.  
Summary: Getting back to Cardiff from the O.Z., interrupted.  
Words: 1807  
A/N: Supposed to be all about Cain and Jack, and somehow Tosh and Glitch stole the show...go figure.

**__**

Rifts Over the O.Z.

__

One and a Half Function Geniuses

Now that it had been confirmed that this indeed was the Outer Zone, the O.Z., Jack had to wonder what had changed the bleak future he'd seen in his adventures B.D., Before the Doctor. In fact, he'd met Cain back then too. He'd been in the Witch-Queen's not so fun torture-chamber prisons. He'd been an old and broken man, going on and on about tin men? It'd been darker - literally, the sun had been blocked out for years and the entire Zone had become a nightmare realm. Jack grinned over at the sweet little D.G., which got him a glare from Cain and a confused look from her.

"This is quite the set up you've got here," Jack gazed all around the spacious sitting room that the group had brought them to.

"Perks of bein' a princess," D.G. shrugged.

"Oh, I'd love to have some of those perks," Jack sighed, winking at Cain, who flared his nostrils in a very manly way.

"Yeah, because all of the politics that go with it, and red tape crap are loads of fun," D.G. rolled her eyes.

"Not to mention the assassination attempts," Azkadellia said quietly, looking away from them. D.G winced at her sister's comment.

There was a tense silence between the O.Z. natives that left a lot to the imagination of the Torchwood team. Tosh nudged Jack slightly, pulling him out of his own thoughts. Ianto and Owen were both watching the O.Z. folk and Gwen was reaching for her mobile.

"We should think about moving on," Jack announced to the collective group. "Toshiko?"

"I've been running scans of the balcony since we arrived. It'll take me a bit to run some simulations in my laptop, but I'll find a solution."

"Of course you will, you're the brains of this entire operation," Jack grinned at her, which made her blush a bit more.

"I think we're supposed to be insulted," Owen pulled a face, but tossed a wink Tosh's way.

"It'll take a few minutes. The battery's fully charged this time, so no need for bloody messages hidden in tins."

"Do we want to ask?" D.G. pondered aloud.

"Probably not."

"We - Jack and I - were stuck in 1941 and had to get a message back to the team. I had to write it in my blood."

"You take them to such thrilling places," D.G. pursed her lips.

"I try."

"I think I could probably help little Miss Sweet and Petite with anything she might need," Glitch smiled. "Anything she might need. Anything she might need."

"Glitch!" several of his friends groaned.

"His brain's still in a jar," D.G. explained.

"Funny, Jack had a hand in a jar," Gwen smiled.

"Yeah, but it wasn't _my hand._ I was holding it for someone else."

"He's so clever, isn't he just?" Owen smirked.

"Tosh? It's your call."

"An extra set of eyes couldn't hurt."

Gwen and Ianto both came to stand beside Jack. They wanted to ask him questions, they had the questioning look in their eyes. He guided them away from the one and a half functioning geniuses and closer to the princesses.

"How exactly does he function with his brain in a jar?" Gwen asked quietly, not really willing to be rude.

"Well, it's not the _whole_ brain," D.G. pointed out.

"They've had thirty annuals to perfect the procedure," Cain pointed out.

"Why would anyone want to have bits of their brains cut out? Who would even want to cut out somebody's brain?" Gwen shivered at the thought.

"Most of the Headcases are convicts," Cain now looked more uncomfortable at Gwen's shocked expression. "It's a form of rehabilitation."

"Its a lobotomy," Ianto's brow furrowed.

"Its disgusting." Gwen looked slightly ill.

"It works," Cain and Jack answered.

"How did you get to be princesses?" Jack's eyes widened as he turned to D.G. and Az.

"We were born them," D.G. smiled. "Nice topic change, by the way."

"I'm known for them."

"Such a smooth operator."

"Nah, not much of a Sade fan," Jack chuckled.

"But you know about our world, how does a princess from here know about our world?" Gwen set herself down on the chaise across from D.G., hands held clasped on her knees.

"I was raised in Kansas, after Az got possessed by an evil witch and kind-of-killed-me," D.G. coughed out the last bit.

"I'm sorry?"

"Did she say tried to kill her?" Owen shouted from where he was leaning against the wall, holding it up.

"I did kill her."

"No, the _witch_ killed me after I accidentally set her free." D.G. shrugged, though Jack could tell it was still a bit of a burden on both their shoulders. "Anyway, I got better."

"And Mother sent her away with two robotic nurturing units."

"And then the Witch found out I was still alive and a wrench in her works for world domination and I got yanked back to the O.Z. I met up with Glitch, Cain, Raw and Tutor and we -"

"Were a four man revolution," Jack grinned, putting the pieces of his previous visit to the O.Z. to this new world together.

"With a little help from my men," Jeb cleared his throat before looking down at Az and D.G. "We took down the Longcoats while the princesses took down the witch."

"She melted."

There was another tense silence as everyone reflected on that, and the only sound in the room was the tap-tap-tapping of Tosh's fingers over the keyboard of her laptop and her quietly whispered conversation with Glitch. It took her a few minutes before she reported her findings to the rest of the group.

"The computer's done numerous scans and collected all of the viable data needed to plot a possible shift in the fabric of the Rift, and I've got a pretty good possibility locked down," Tosh called from her seat. She looked as uncomfortable as Jack felt. Of course it could be that Glitch had been chattering with her nonstop with Owen glowering with that adorable/annoying pout of his strapped onto his face.

"Good work, Tosh. Tell me what you've got," Jack smiled at the blush on her cheeks at the praise.

"The next probable point of Rift activity on the balcony will be in one hundred sixty-four hours three minutes and twenty-four seconds."

"How long is that again?" Gwen looked between Tosh and Jack, her eyes locking on his.

"Just under seven days," Ianto and Cain answered her.

"Seven days, Jack? I can't be gone that long! Rhys'll think I've been killed or worse, run off with some random bloke!" Gwen cried, eyes wide in horror.

"I didn't exactly plan this little trip through dimensions either, you know!" Jack snapped, reaching the end of his rope.

"Its not that bad," Az rolled her eyes at Gwen's outburst. Gwen spun around, ready to pounce.

"Seven days without contact with my fiance isn't that bad? Letting him imagine what sort of fate I might of met isn't that bad?"

"She's right, seven days is not that bad. Try going eight annuals, or even fifteen. Seven days is nothing," Jeb said quietly coming to stand in front of Az. Az looked at him as if she'd never seen him before. She blinked and then rose from the chaise.

"While you all seem to think I'm still a heartless bitch, I didn't mean it that way."

Jeb clenched his jaw and backed into his lean against the wall. Jack remembered that pose. Apparently, he'd met a different Cain all those years ago. Gwen still looked angry and scared, but a bit mollified. Cain had only popped an eyebrow at his son's defense of the eldest princess.

"We didn't - what did you have in mind, Az?" D.G. said after a moments silence.

"I could triple check other points of rift activity. It might be a bit tricky, as we know for sure this point will most likely reach back to Cardiff," Tosh started in. She glanced over at Glitch with a small smile on her lips. "Glitch is sure that the rift holes found in the O.Z. can only lead back into our world. The change in location could be the problem. We might end up in London or Bora-Bora -"

"We can summon a Travel Storm to get them back to Cardiff," Az sighed, cutting Tosh off mid-rant.

"What's a Travel Storm?" Gwen asked, her brows furrowing in confusion.

"I think they want to keep it low key. The general public will notice a big ole honkin tornado touching down in the city," D.G. pointed out, giving her older sister an apologetic glance.

"Yeah, I think a tornado is definitely out of the question," Jack sighed.

"Not all travel storms come in the form of tornados. That was just the fastest Travel Storm type," Az smiled. "If you don't care about being gone for a day, we can summon a pretty spectacular thunderstorm to get you back to Cardiff."

"A whole day? Can't you summon it a bit faster than that?" Gwen pressed.

"We could, but we've got a ball to host in about half an hour. Barring that..."

"Crap! I've gotta wear a gown!" D.G. groaned, remembering the hated dress that hung in her wardrobe.

"I think the better question is what do we do with them during the ball," Cain covered the quick smile he got from D.G.'s outburst.

"We would have to take them with us, keep them under containment as best we can," Jeb answered the question, only to get a light smack from Az. He grit his teeth at her and spat out, "What?"

"Or we could _invite_ them to join us at the ball like civilized people instead of ordering them to like a bunch of mountain militia men."

"Will there be a bit of dancing?" Gwen gave an honest to god joyful smile for the first time since they'd landed in the O.Z., squelching any witty retort Jeb could have made.

"And frou-frou-y dresses and pinching shoes, too," D.G. laughed, which earned another hidden smile from Cain. "I'm sure we could find stuff for you guys to wear. We've got rooms full of all different formal gowns that are kinda wasted on just me and Az."

"It's been a while since we've all had a good reason to dance," Tosh smiled in excitement at the thought of getting frilled up, and at the look of joy on Glitch's face at the mention of dancing.

"Oh, the moves I know! They didn't call me twinkle toes for nothing! We'll have a dance or four, Miss Sweet and Petite," Glitch gushed.

"I don't know about you guys, but I never miss an opportunity to dance," Jack smirked at Ianto and Gwen before turning back to Az and D.G.. "We'd love to go to the ball."


End file.
